Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

One taken to hospital after being shot in front of Tropicana, police say

MayPac

Richard Brian / Special to the Sun

The crowd exits the MGM Grand Garden Arena through the casino after the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight Saturday, May 2, 2015.

Updated Sunday, May 3, 2015 | 1:30 a.m.

Metro Police officers are investigating a shooting at the Tropicana near the MGM Grand where pedestrian and vehicle traffic was still high early Sunday after the record-breaking fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

Metro said one person was shot around midnight and transported to University Medical Center in nonlife-threatening condition. Metro’s gang unit is on the scene conducting a preliminary investigation.

Other than that, activity on the Strip has been relatively calm, according to Metro.

As of around 1 a.m. on Sunday, Metro said there was still a heavy pedestrian presence around the MGM Grand as well as heavy vehicle traffic on Tropicana Avenue going east from Interstate 15.

After the fight late Saturday night, Metro reported no major problems and said traffic had flowed smoothly after the fight near the MGM Grand Garden Arena, where it was held.

Officials said the crowd of 16,507 people moved calmly out of the arena, a contrast to two recent Mayweather fights where problems broke out. In one, a partition fell over and made a sharp noise that sounded similar to a gunshot, triggering a stampede that left 60 people injured.

This time, after Mayweather won a unanimous decision over Pacquiao, the crowd was shoulder-to-shoulder but no injuries were reported.

The calmness was a testament to MGM Grand staffers, event planners and local public safety authorities. A combination of the massively hyped fight, an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 visitors and alcohol created an unpredictable environment, and the city’s history is littered with problems related to major sporting events.

Rapper Tupac Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting in 1996 that stemmed from a fight at the MGM Grand after a Mike Tyson bout, and at least four shootings and 400 arrests occurred in 2007 after Las Vegas played host to the NBA All-Star Game.

But MGM Grand security took steps to prevent crowd problems, and Metro police worked with cities that recently were home to the Super Bowl and an NCAA football semifinal to develop a plan to beef up security on Saturday night.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy